Riveting device



Dec. 26, 1944. K. N. KEESLER RIVETING DEVICE Filed April 28, 1943 2Sheets-Sheet 2 filvAle-mA fki-z's4se,

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

'ated by pressure fluid supplied Patented Dec. 26, 1944 arvn'rmo DEVICE1 Kenneth N. Keesler, Burbank, CaliL, assignor to Consolidated VulteeAircraft Corporation, a

corporation of Delaware Application April 28, 1943, Serial No. 484,817

2 Claims.

This invention pertains to an improved riveting device particularlyadapted for riveting operations in sheet metal construction andcharacterized by the provision of an automatic bucker which isautomatically and positively brought into contact with the foot of therivet and effectively maintained in contact 'with such foot during theriveting operation. In this manner a single operator may rapidly andeffectively rivet pieces of metal together without the necessity ofhaving an assistant operate a bucking tool. Moreover, it isnot'necessary for the operator to move the material being rivetedagainst a stationary bucker, thereby greatly expediting the work andpermitting the riveting operation to be carried out on partly assembledunits or in positions where riveting by one operator has not beenaccomplished heretofore.

Generally'stated, the present invention pertains to a device j'adapted'for use with a fluid pressure riveting hammer, the device being suitablypositioned with respect to the riveting hammer so as to-be available foruse atall times. The device constitutes-an automatic bucker actuated bypressure fluid supplied to the riveting hammer and is preferably soarranged as to cause the bucker to move into positionand into contactwith the foot of the rivet as soon as the rivet set of the rivetinghammer has been positioned on the head of the rivet and the trigger ofthe hammer has been depressed or pressure fluid supplied to the hammerin any suitable manner.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to disclose andprovide a device-particularly adaptedfor use with pressure fluidactuatedriveting hammers whereby a bucking surface is Fig. 1 is a side,elevation of one arrangement in which the present invention may beembodied. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the bucker partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a sectional .view taken through the handle and a part of apressure actuated riveting hammer showing means for supplying pressurefluid to the automatic bucker.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a modified form of valveadapted for use in a riveting hammer with which an automatic bucker'isto be employed.

By referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, it will benoted that a pneumatic rivet- .ing hammer I provided with a handle 2, atrigger 3 and a pressure fluid inlet connection 4, this hammer being ofany suitable design or type, is

held as by means of a clamp 5 at one end of a leg 6 .of a U-shaped yokegenerally identified at I. The clamp 5 may be of any suitable design andis preferably provided with means for removably holding the rivetinghammer I.

The yoke I is preferably tubular. and 8 of the yoke may be held togetheras by means of a turnbuckle or double-ended screw- 9 so as to permitminor adjustment between the ends of the legs. of the yoke. The lengthof the legs or fork II) is attached as, for example, by means broughtinto contact with 'the rivet concurrently with the initiation of theriveting operation.

A further object of the invention is to disclose and provide anautomatic bucker which is'actuto the .riveting hammer.

A still further object of the invention is to disclose and provide anautomatic bucker which employs fluid pressure used in actuating theriveting hammer and which imparts a secondary blow to the foot of therivet in timed relation to the blows of the riveting hammer.

These and other objectatuses and advantages of the present inventionwill become apparent to those skilled in the art from the followingdetailed description. In order to facilitate understanding. referencewill be had to the appended drawings, in which:-

of pins Ii and machine screws l2. The supporting member 10 is providedwith a boss l3 which may be integral with the member ll).

A bucking head, generally indicated at I4, is provided with a bore l5adapted to slidably receive the'boss l3 for movement thereon toward andaway fromthe riveting hammer I held by the opposing leg 6 of the yoke.Guide means may be carried by the support I0 and adapted tocooperatively engage the bucking head. For ex-' ample, the support I0may be provided with a pair of guide rods I6 extending through boresformed in the bucking head I4. Guide rod [6 may be held in position bymeans of set screws H. A cavity l8'may be formed in the bucking head,said cavity being adapted to receive a spring l9- held in position by aremovable pin 20, the spring being adapted to yieldably urge the buckinghead away from the riveting hammer I. A removable anvil-block 2| may becarried by the bucking head M, the anvil block being in alignment withthe rivet mer -l.

The legs 6 set 22 of the riveting hamv The handle 2 of the rivetinghammer is provided with a suitable valve 24 actuated by the trigger 3and adapted to supply pressure fluid, such as compressed air, from thesource of supply connected to the port 4 to the riveting hammer I as bymeans of a conduit 25. This conduit may be tapped by means of a nipple26, the nipple.

being connected as by means of a flexible hose 2! and collars 28 and 29to a nipple 30 in communication with a conduit leading to a tube 3|extending through theyoke 1. The tube 3| is suitably anchored in theflange 8' carried by the end of leg 8 and communicates with bores 32 and33. A spindle 34 provided with an axial bore and radial passagewaysleading from such bore to a circumferential groove 35, extends throughthe boss l3 and provides means for supplying pressure fluid to the spacewithin the bore l of the bucker l4. .The inner end of the spindle 34 maybe threaded so as to receive a nut 36 adapted to hold a cup leather 3!upon the outer end of the boss 13, thereby adequately sealing thecylinder or bore I5. The'outer end of the spindle 34 may .be providedwith a slotted head in order to facilitateassembly or repairs.

In operation, the device described hereinabove is applied to the workwhich extends between the immediately flows through nipple 28, flexiblehose 27, nipple 3!], tube 3|, conduits 32 and 33, and 'through the axialbore of the spindle 34 into the 1 cylinder of the bucker l4, forcing thebucker, and

particularly the anvil 2| thereof, into pressure contact with the footof the rivet. Simultaneously, the riveting hammer l is energized tocause the rivet set 22 to hammer against the rivet.

It has been found desirable to make themovable bucker I4 of such massthat the bucker resists the blows of the hammer. The inertia of thebucker should be such that it does not readily bounce away from the footof the rivet, and it also should not fail to return. The mass andinertia of the bucker l4 and the diameter of the bore-l5 (in comparisonwith the effective .piston area within the hammer I) should be such asto cause the bucker l4 to maintain contact with the foot of the rivetfor at least a part of the time consumed by each reciprocation of therivet set 22 of the hammer I. In other words, the bucker l4 may vibrateunder the influence of the blows of the riveting hammer upon the head ofthe rivet but the factors above disclosed should be suflicient to causethe bucker to return into contact with the foot of the rivet at somepart of each hammer blow.

A flexible hose 21 has been provided between the nipples 26 and sincethe handle 2 of the'hammer I need not be maintained in the positionillustrated in Fig. 1. Some operators prefer to have the handle inclinedwith respect to the plane of the yoke l and the flexible hose connection2'! permits suitable adjustment of the handle 2 of the riveting hammerwith respect to the yoke 1.

On certain types 01 work it is highly desirable that the bucker comeinto position and into contact with the foot of the rivet slightly priorto the instant at which the riveting hammer is energized. This may beattained by employing two valves operated successively by the trigger 3,the first valve furnishing pressure fluid to the bucker and the secondvalve furnishing pressure fluid t0 the riveting hammer. Instead of twoseparate valves, a single balanced slide valve may be employed and adiagrammatic representation of such valve appears inFigr'l.

As shown in Fig. 4, the trigger 3 moves the valve body element 24', thisvalve being so arranged that ports leading to conduit 25 (incommunication with conduit 21 which leads to the bucking head) areopened slightly in advance of the ports which communicate with conduit25 leading to the riveting hammer I. A single movement of the trigger,therefore, successively causes pressure fluid to be supplied to thebucking head and hammer in that order.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the bucking headhere disclosed need not be made a part of a portable yoke such as isillustrated in the drawings. The bucking head may be firmly attached toa table, work bench or the like, above which a riveting hammer is eitherpositioned or held, the work being then brought into position betweenthe bucking head and the hammer. When made a part of a portable yoke asshown in the drawings, a single operator may perform efllcient rivetingin various and sundry positions.

An automatic fitting device for fitting rivets may be made a part of theyoke 1, this addi tional element automatically fitting and positioningrivets immediately in front of the rivet set 22 so as to facilitate theriveting operation, increase the number of rivets which may be drivenwithin a given period of time by an operator, and to a large extenteffect an economy in rivets in that no rivets are accidentally droppedor improperly driven because of deviation from a predetermined anglewith respect to the Work.

These and other changes, modifications and adaptations of the inventioncoming within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

1. A riveting device comprising: a yoke, a fluid pressure operatedriveting hammer held by one end of the yoke and provided with a valvefor controlling the admission of pressure fluid to said hammer, a fluidpressure operated bucking head assembly held by the other end of theyoke, said bucking head assembly including a support, a boss thereon, abucking head provided with a bore adapted to slidably receive the bossin substantially fluid-tight relationship therewith for movement thereontoward and away from the riveting hammer, means carried by the supportand slidably engaged by the bucking head for guiding movement thereof,spring means carried by said support and yieldably urging the buckinghead away from the riveting hammer, conduit means for admitting pressurefluid to the riveting hammer under the control of said valve, conduitmeans extending from said valve to and through said yoke for admittingpressure fluid to the bore in the bucking head to force the head towardthe riveting hammer, and means for adjusting the spread between the endsof said yoke whereby to vary the distance between said riveting hammerand bucking head according to the thickness of work to be riveted.

2. A riveting device comprising: a yoke formed of a tube bent into agenerally U-shape, a fluid pressure operated riveting hammer held by onehammer, a fluid pressure operated bucking head assembly held by theother end of the yoke, said bucking head assembly including a support, aboss, a bucking head provided with a bore adapted to slidably receivethe boss in substantially fluid-tight relationship therewith formovement thereon toward and away from the riveting hammer, a, guide rodaflixed to the support parallel to the boss and slidably engaged by thebucking head for guiding movement thereof, a spring carfrom the rivetinghammer, conduit means foradmitting pressure fluid to the riveting hammerunder the controlof said valve, conduit means extending from said valveto and through said yoke for admitting pressure fluid to the bore in thebucking head to force the head toward the riveting hammer, and means foradjusting the I spread between the ends of said yoke by spring-

